The Impact of Consumer Knowledge Bias on Narrow-Scope Trust, Broad-Scope Trust, and Relationship Satisfaction

This study investigates how consumer knowledge bias - defined as knowledge over/underconfidence (O/U) - influences two types of trust (broad-scope trust and narrow-scope trust) and consumer relationship satisfaction. Based on a survey comprising 756 mutual fund investors, the contribution of this study to the marketing literature is twofold. First, taking a marketing relationship approach this study suggests and demonstrates that knowledge O/U positively influences relationship satisfaction and narrow-scope trust such that the more knowledge O/U a customer becomes, the higher/lower the level of relationship satisfaction and narrow-scope trust. Second, it is proposed and shown that broad-scope trust negatively moderates the relationship between knowledge O/U and relationship satisfaction such that knowledge O/U has a greater positive/negative effect on relationship satisfaction when broad-scope trust is low compared to high. Notably, the study findings strongly suggest that marketing managers should carry out their relationship satisfaction and trust improvement efforts relative to the combination of customers‟ subjective and objective knowledge.